The Liaison's Special Diplomacy
by Insidiae
Summary: Shikamaru's been sent to Suna to... well, to be honest, he's not really sure what he's doing there, but the point is that Temari is his guide. Oneshot, ShikamaruTemari


Wee! Giftfic for the lovely Phoenix Lament, who doesn't know me really, but I know him! No, I'm not a stalker, Mali just tells me everything. And Phoenix rocks because, let's face it, anyone with a top hat in his or her ID wins at life. And a flying pig wins you the afterlife.

Warnings: ShikamaruxTemari coming your way. Spoilers like whoa for the Japanese anime, and parts of the Japanese manga (i.e., Gaara's new status after the two and a half year skip). OOC because Temari and Shikamaru are the two most impossible people to do romance with. Um…. Gaara. And Tsunade. Yeah, they definitely deserve warnings. XD

Disclaimer: Dog! Rat! Boar! Rabbit! Ownage no Jutsu! With this masterful move, I have taken ownership of Naruto.

Too bad it's just a genjutsu. Damn illusions.

-Insidiae once again proves she has no life, at all. Three cheers.-

Note: This story takes place DURING the two and a half year time skip.

* * *

There were no words to describe the extent of how troublesome this was. 

"I said, you're going to Suna."

A black eyebrow ticked. The constant dull stare was focused on the pleased-looking busty blonde as she sorted through papers. If Shikamaru cared enough, he may have been insulted by her repetition of his mission, considering that he was in fact not stupid, but a genius.

However, as has been made clear countless times in the past, Shikamaru, in fact, does not care.

"I get that, Hokage-sama," he said, keeping his honorifics more from force of habit than from actual respect for the gambling fool of a woman. "What I wanted to know was why."

"The Kazekage needs advice," Tsunade responded without sparing him a glance.

"Uh-huh."

"…"

"And?"

"And you are going to give it to him."

"…."

"…."

"…What?" The Nara boy's usually swift-thinking mind was taking its sweet time with this one. The idea that Gaara of all people would need help from ANYONE, never mind Shikamaru, was a hard one to process. "…With what?"

"Dunno," Tsunade replied with a shrug.

"So why me?"

"Shikamaru, has anyone ever told you that you're just like your father?" In fact, lots of people did, the least not being his number-one-source-of-his-trouble mom, but he chose not to respond. "Lazy asses, each and every Nara, I swear. Look kid, the Kazekage needs advice from Konoha, and you're the best advisor we got. So deal with it."

"But what about my classes?" the fifteen-year-old almost whined out. Teaching little kids was troublesome enough, but it beat anything having to do with the crazy redhead. "Who will take over at the Academy?"

"Ebisu has so kindly volunteered to substitute teach your strategy class in your absence, since Konohamaru is a student of yours anyway, is he not?"

"Yeah… but Ebisu?" What kind of strategies could that guy teach? How to cause confusion from fainting? How to knock your enemies out from massive blood loss due to nosebleeds? How to look inconspicuous by wearing ridiculous all-black spandex outfits with matching bandana and sunglasses that no self-respecting ninja would wear?

"Yes, Ebisu."

"But-"

"No more buts. Your life sucks, and this is way too troublesome, and all you want to do is stare at clouds," Tsunade said, a vein popping out dangerously from her forehead. "I know, and I don't care. You chose to take the chuunin exam, and you were the one who showed off your strategic abilities, so you are the only one to blame here."

Lie.

"So, there will be no more discussion. The liaison should be here momentarily to pick you up."

"Liaison?" This surprised the boy. He was not aware that Konoha now had a liaison with Suna, but then again, he hadn't had much to do with the village since Sasu…. Since two years ago.

"Yep. She'll be arriving any minute now."

Ah, come on. "She?" He opened his mouth to protest further, but his words were swallowed by the howl of a giant gust of wind, so powerful it rattled the office windows and sent whole branches flying off trees.

Tsunade looked up with a smile. "That would be her," she said cheerfully. Shikamaru didn't budge from his place. "Go, Nara. Now."

The shougi player let out a sigh as he slowly moved his feet towards the door, waving his hand dismissively. It was far too troublesome to fight with a woman who could push his over-sized brain out of his head with her pinky. Then probably repair the damage with her incredible healing abilities, just so she could do it again.

No one ever claimed the Godaime was a good person, but then again, it was between a gambler and a pervert, so Konoha was screwed either way. Tsunade, as Naruto would probably (emphasis on probably) attest, was the lesser of the two evils.

The first thing Shikamaru saw when he got to the stairs where the liaison was waiting was something big and furry, which he really didn't want to think about. The next thing he saw was a pair of ample breasts, which indeed confirmed the fact that the liaison was indeed of the female persuasion. And then the tufts of blonde hair and familiar smirk registered in his mind.

"Yo. "

Remember when Shikamaru said that his mom was the most troublesome person he knew?

"Took you long enough."

Yeah, well, as he took in the sight of Temari resting upon her fan, giant summoned weasel behind her, he reminded himself that in fact, there was someone worse than the woman who gave birth to him, even with her constant nagging.

"…How troublesome."

* * *

The trip to Suna was…. Long. Three agonizing days and nights. Temari had a bad habit of being very crass, and being up old topics that were better off dead. 

The first night, she talked about Tayuya.

"Hey, remember that Sound bitch who would've kicked your ass if I hadn't saved it back when that prissy boy abandoned your village?"

Shikamaru's head shot up. Temari still had a casual air to her, so she hadn't meant anything by the statement, but… "Yeah, I remember."

That incident was one of the few things that Shikamaru was never able to let go of. His first mission as a newly appointed chuunin, and he had failed miserably. He had let a shining hope of his village fall into dark, scaly hands, and in the process almost lost two of his companions.

They didn't talk anymore after that. Sleep could not come soon enough.

* * *

The second night, Shikamaru learned that the older girl was a fitful sleeper. 

He had been in a pleasant dream. It involved sleeping. Honestly, only Shikamaru would think about sleep in his sleep. He was woken up by a disturbing wind blowing on the nape of his neck. He made a disgruntled face to match a disgruntled sound, and turned his head to find the source of his discomfort.

His eyes crossed as he stared down the bridge of his nose and up the bridge of Temari's. His pupils struggled to focus on the features of the girl so close to him, made harder by the dark.

A few things began to click in the back of his mind. The soft, squishy things that he had somehow vaguely registered were sitting on his arm when he awoke were in fact the blonde's breasts. The warm blanket over his right leg was her left leg.

And that obnoxious wind that woke him up in the first place was the rhythmic breathing of his companion, coming out in calm puffs from pink lips so near his own. Just a little closer and he could…

Temari made a frustrated groan in her sleep, and rolled away from Shikamaru into an odd sort of fetal position. The boy quickly shook himself from his daze and too, turned his back to her.

This was why women, especially this one, were so troublesome.

* * *

The third night, she exhibited a behavior that was usually displayed by her youngest brother. 

Insomnia.

Shikamaru was awoken from his favorite past time of napping to the restless sounds of his companion. For some odd reason, these sounds seem to be of the 'snipping' and 'clipping' variety, rather than the 'shredding' and 'slicing' he would've expected.

He groggily turned over to face the blonde, and figure out what the hell she could possibly be doing that involved those noises, and it once again took his advanced mind a pathetically long time to figure out what he was seeing.

Though, when it all comes down to it, no one can really blame him.

I mean, when you look at Temari, you probably wouldn't peg her down as the type to spend her free time cutting animal shapes into bushes, but sure enough, the pony-tailed boy could recognize the shapes of many animals, ranging from elephants to an octopus now adorning the surprisingly well-done topiary of the wild bushes.

However, the fact that the bushes actually looked good made the whole situation even weirder.

"What are you doing?"

"Botany," came the simple response.

Now, let's pause right here and look at this situation for what it is. The oldest, and most crass of the sand siblings, all of whom were notorious killers, who was from a village with little to no vegetation to speak of, was playing with plants.

"It's a hobby of mine," she added on as an afterthought.

Right.

The snips of her scissors paused as she realized the dubious look the younger boy was giving her. She rolled her eyes at his expression, as if he was the strange one here, and let out a hefty sigh, before stomping over to him and yanking him up from his sitting position by his arm.

"Come on," she said, dragging him behind her for what would not be the last time. "I'll show you."

Now, there were few things that Shikamaru actually wanted to do less than follow the deranged woman out to the floral statues she had created, but it would be even more troublesome to fight her than to go with her, so he begrudgingly allowed himself to be dragged along. She stopped the two of them in front of a hedge that was beginning to take the shape of….

"….A weasel?"

Of course. What else what he expecting?

Temari placed the boy in front of her, sandwiching him between her body and the greenery, before forcefully shoving the scissors into his hands. She covered his hands with her own to guide his cutting, as she leaned down behind him in order to whisper instructions in his ear.

All of this was highly unnecessary, and Shikamaru, being the genius that he was, realized that she was doing this all just to get a rise out of him, but none of that helped the small blush that crossed his cheeks. After all, he was a teenage boy, and some things were just intrinsically part of one's nature, no matter how troublesome they were.

Temari was getting a huge kick out of the whole deal.

It was… amusing to see anything affect the Nara boy, since he was so indifferent to absolutely everything in the world. He was a real piece of work, he was, and Temari found it oh so much fun to unravel the boredom and nonchalance that were the core of the boy.

So she pressed her body harder against his and lowered her voice to an incredibly seductive level, and spent the night somewhere between smirking and genuinely smiling at the red that colored her companion's cheeks as they turned leaves into art.

* * *

They arrived in the desert village the next day, and the first thing Shikamaru noticed was that because there was little water, there were almost no clouds. 

Peachy.

"You wouldn't happen to shougi parlors in Suna, would you?"

Temari gave him a look that clearly stated she questioned his sanity, which, considering her family, was rather ironic. "No," she said after a pause. "Not that I know of."

Another sigh. "Of course not."

The villagers of Sunagakure stared at the Leaf shinobi with dubious faces. True, Konoha and Suna had been allied for a couple years now, but to see anyone from any village other than their own was rare these days, since Gaara did a damn good job of running things. Could have something to do with the fact that nobody was stupid enough to attack a village whose leader has a demon locked up in him, and likewise, no one (except Baki and Temari on the rare occasion) would argue with his decisions.

However, not only was he a stranger to the village, but he was walking so _casually_ with the great and powerful Temari, of all people, second only, of course, to her little brother!

Shikamaru either didn't notice, or more likely, didn't care.

The boy decided to take a good look at the village he would be staying in for the next couple of days or so. It was impressive; for a place made completely out of sand, it had a certain beauty to it, and it was just as big as Konoha. In the distance, their destination loomed over all of the other buildings, "kaze" symbol paint bold and large on the side of the building.

"Goddamnit! Cheap piece of crap, I should've known not to trust something without the Red Sand seal on it! Shit…."

"Still working on your dragon, huh?" Temari taunted her brother as he came out of a side street, clutching splintered wood to his chest.

"Temari?" Kankurou stared at his older sister with surprised look in his heavily painted eyes. "For your information, it's a salamander, not a dragon, but more importantly, where have you been for the past few days? I tried asking Gaara, but he wouldn't tell me anything, and Baki was-" He cut off, seeming to notice Shikamaru for the first time. A grin slowly appeared on his face. "Hey man, I remember you! You're that little brat that became the only chuunin that year, since you kicked Temari's ass so badly-"

At this point, Kankurou's head was introduced to the metal of Temari's fan.

"Ow, shit! Fuck, Temari, are you trying to kill off your family? We're in short supply these days, you know?"

Temari scowled at her sibling. "Kankurou, I was off on important business, and the reason Gaara didn't tell you anything was beacuse it was confidential."

Also a lie.

"Speaking of, don't you have more important things to do than playing with dolls?"

"They're puppets," Kankurou grit out under his breath, plotting swift death to his sister with Karasu in his mind. Seriously, this from the girl who looked like she had stolen her weapon from a giant geisha. However, the sad truth was that despite gaining experience and strength over the past couple of years, Kankurou was still no match for the raging force that was his sister. So he changed the subjects, and hoped the blonde hadn't heard his mutterings or developed ESP in the short time they'd been apart. "So what's he doing here?"

Temari shrugged noncommittally. "Gaara requested Konoha send him here so he could ask his advice on something." Kankurou gave her a look similar to the one she had given Shikamaru when he had asked about the shougi parlors.

"…What?"

Ah, Shikamaru thought as he observed the middle sand sibling's reaction. So I'm not the only one who finds something about this situation to be completely out of whack.

Temari glared at her brother.

"Right," Kankurou said slowly. "I'm sure he did. Of course he did. Well, you wouldn't want to keep him waiting, now would you? Our little brother isn't exactly big on the patience thing, so you better go. Um. Yeah."

"Your right!" Temari responded cheerfully, grabbing onto to her guest's arm. Her smile remained suspiciously innocent (seeing as it _was_ Temari and all), but the look in her eyes was one Kankurou knew all to well.

Good boy, they said.

"Come on, Nara!" The blonde began to trot away, dragging her reluctant companion behind her.

Kankurou stared after the pair, despairing over the fact that he had, once again, been scared out of his mind by his sister's presence. He vowed, right there and then, that as soon as he was strong enough to protect himself from being fatally injured by her, he was going to have Temari wake up with a weasel head in her bed.

* * *

For the first time he since he had departed on this mission, Shikamaru found himself without the annoyance of Temari's company. 

However, his cheer was short-lived, seeing as Gaara really isn't better at all.

Though, Shikamaru was mildly impressed with the village leader. Two years seemed to have done a whole lot of good for him. He seemed much more… level. Mild. Sane. Hell, as he went on through the papers scattered across his desk, he seemed downright professional.

It was really, really weird to think of Gaara so normally. And, it also didn't change the fact that the redhead could rip his arms out of their sockets effortlessly if he so chose to.

For his part, the green-eyed boy ignored his visitor, continuing doing paperwork (paperwork! Gaara!) that would some way or another benefit Suna. Shikamaru watched him work with one eyebrow raised, wondering vaguely if all the kage's treated others so rudely, or if Tsunade and Gaara were just special.

Finally, Gaara scratched something out on a lengthy form, then put down his pen, gracing his guest with acknowledgement of his presence.

This acknowledgement, unfortunately, came in the form of a long, silent, and incredibly intimidating stare. The Kazekage, it would appear still had lots to work on when it came to people skills.

"Um..." Shikamaru tried to break the silence, lamely. He looked up into darkly ringed eyes, becoming nervous under the scrutinizing gaze.

"What?"

Shikamaru faintly noticed it was more of a threat than a question. "You...uh..." He scratched the back of his head. This was really the most awkward situation he'd ever been in, and though Shikamaru was quickly becoming annoyed with the pale boy, he still valued his life, and understood the need to tread carefully. 'That is..."

"Yes?"

The black-haired boy wondered if this entire conversation would be spoken in monosyllables, but decided not to try the Kazekage's infamously short patience and got straight to the point. "Um, you called me here. Kazekage-sama."

The look that crossed Gaara's face could only be described as skeptical, which Shikamaru found odd. The look was soon replaced by apprehension, and then anger (though you wouldn't be able to tell with the apathetic boy if you weren't as skilled as Shikamaru was at observation), and then back to his emotionless default."Ah."

"So…." Wow, this conversation was going nowhere fast. Where had the Nara boy's famous thought process gone to? "…What about?" he finally managed to get out, putting everything out on the table.

What followed was an incredibly long, incredibly awkward silence.

Gaara, Shikamaru noticed, looked to be becoming increasingly pissed off as the time continued. Again, it was always hard to tell with the sand-nin, but the genius was good at these kinds of things. Eventually, the redhead ground out "chuunin exams" from his answer between clenched teeth.

"Right. What about them?"

"I want them to happen," Gaara replied in his usual monotone, giving the look that seemed to run in the family to the boy sitting opposite him.

Funny how Shikamaru was the supposed crazy one here.

"Okay," he responded, happy with a full sentence from the quiet man (boy?). "They are, so how can I help?"

"You can't."

…Uh-huh.

Shikamaru gave Gaara a flat stare. "Alright, look. Am I right when I say that you really don't want me here, and all we're doing is bullshitting each other into continuing an awkward conversation that neither of us wanted to have in the first place?"

"Yes, that would be correct."

"Right then," he said with a sigh, rising from his chair. What a waste of time. "I'll just be heading out then, if we're done."

Gaara nodded in affirmation, and with that signal Shikamaru opened the door that would free him from this horrible position…

…And got a face full of boob.

He stumbled backwards, sputtering incoherently, as Temari toppled onto him. They landed in a mess of limbs on the floor of the Kazekage's office, a rather undignified position, especially considering who was watching. The girl, who had apparently been eavesdropping on the meeting, ended sprawled across her younger counterpart, lanky limbs intertwined, faces mere centimeters apart.

Shikamaru scowled.

Temari let out a giggle, which was pretty freaky coming from a seventeen-year-old trained killer, and rolled off the (sexually and emotionally) frustrated boy to look up at her younger brother.

The anger was written clearly across Gaara's face, which, coming from a kid with the emotional output of a rock, showed just how pissed off he was.

"Temari…"

It was more of a growl than anything else.

The blonde chuckled to herself, seemingly unfazed by her sibling's dangerous mood. And, while her mouth was smiling, her eyes were mad. Shikamaru wisely exited the room before anything exploded.

As he walked away from the psycho family, he heard tidbits of their conversation (screaming argument), mostly from Temari. Things along the lines of 'Let him get away,' and 'Keep him here, please?'

Shikamaru really, really didn't want to know.

* * *

The leaf-nin was happy to be returning home relatively unscathed. He still had some supplies left over, since he was expecting to stay longer, but nevertheless bought a few more packaged food products and made a beeline for the village exit. Freedom! Oh, God, he was so close…! 

Imagine his surprise when the two guards on either side of the gate blocked his path with two large, pointy, and rather dangerous looking spears.

"Um…. What is this?"

"The Kazekage has put the village under alert. No one is allowed to leave," said one of the stoic guards, looking straight ahead into nothing.

"Yeah, that's great," Shikamaru said, annoyed. "But I'm not from Suna, so if you'd be so kind-"

"Nobody leaves. Kazekage's orders," replied the other guard, in much the same voice as the first.

"Okay then. Why then, may I ask, is Suna under said alert?"

"The Kazekage has discovered the presence of enemy shinobi outside the village parameters."

Shikamaru tried to pick up the enemies' chakra. He eventually found it, but it was as weak as some of the kids he taught. He glared at the two guards. "Whoever it is, is a genin. A low-level chuunin at best. And you're telling me that Gaara put Suna under house arrest for that?"

"That's Kazekage-sama to you, and yes that's what we're saying."

"Oi, Nara!" Shikamaru barely held back a groan as Temari's voice reached his ears. Honestly, the woman had a habit of showing up everywhere he went in this city. "I just heard about the thing Gaara just put out. I can't believe he did that!"

If her smile was any faker, it would've been plastic.

Shikamaru had the sinking feeling that not only was Temari not surprised by the order, but probably had a good part in it's making too. What she said next only convinced him.

"Well, since you have to stay here overnight at least, I suppose you should sleep at my place."

No. No, absolutely not. Not a chance he was staying with the she-demon any more that completely necessary. No, no, no, no, no...

Shikamaru noticed the threat behind the smile.

"...Fine."

* * *

As the pair walked into the blonde's house, the male figured that it really wasn't all that bad. The home, located close to Gaara, was rather nice, and if he could just ignore the troublesome woman - a skill he was well-versed in - it could actually end up being a rather nice night. 

"Sit down, Nara," Temari commanded, leaving no room for arguement.

So much for ignoring.

Shikamaru obeyed, finding content in just being off his feet. From the kitchen, he could smell something surprisingly appetizing cooking. His stomach growled, and he noted to himself that it was already evening,and he hadn't eaten since the morning. That, and the idea of food that wasn't pre-packaged and instant cooked (Naruto may love ramen in any form, but normal people can only take so much of 'just-add-water!') was rather appealing to him.

Temari bustled around the kitchen, looking for all the world lik a perfect housewife, excluding the giant iron fan that remained on her back. If Shikamaru was being honest with himself, seeing her in such a role was actually kind of cute. This was how women were supposed to act. It was rather charming coming from his former opponent.

"What is it?" he asked, curiousity getting the better of him.

The older shinobi looked over her shoulder at the brunet, hands still stirring something brewing on the stove. "Vegetable soup," she said with a small smile/smirk. She lifted the ladle from her handiwork for a taste. A sastified grin came over her face. "It should be done in a few minutes."

Shikamaru nodded and rose from his seat. "Where are the bowls?"

Temari raised an eyebrow at the lazy boy, surprised with his offer to help. The shadow user read her expression, and merely shrugged his shoulders, giving her no excuse. "Up there," she responded, pointing to the cabinet right above her.

Shikamaru looked at cabinet the finger pointed towards, making a sound of irritation. There was really no way to reach it without being where Temari was exactly, or to be right behind her and...

He slapped a hand to his forehead. Goddamnit.

He moved to right behind Temari, making a sound from the back of his throat to indicate that she should move. She didn't, and he hadn't really expected her to, but it was worth a try. With a sigh, he reached an arm up over her head towards the cabinet, but it didn't even get close to reaching it. He went up on his tip toes, but the cabinet was still beyond his grasp. With a groan of annoyance, he pressed lightly against the blonde, allowing his arm to get close enough to open the wood cupboard, but not close enough to remove the bowls.

Temari showed no signs of caring about the invasion of her personal space.

This was getting nowhere, and Shikamaru realized it. So, with one last frustrated grunt, he pushed fully against her, something in the back of his mind wondering why she didn't put up any protest to being shoved into the countertop, grabbed the bowls, and moved as quickly as he could away from her.

If he could've seen her face, he would've been graced with the image of her smug grin.

Shikamaru set the table as Temari turned off the heat on the stove. She gave the soup one last good stir, before bringing the giant pot to the table. She dished it out to the both of them, and gave another surprised glance to her partner, who made a disgusted face.

"What is that?" he asked, gesturing towards a chunk of white of yellow.

"It's a boiled egg," the blonde replied, not seeing the problem. "What of it?"

"Why is it in a vegetable soup?"

"I like it, that's why. You got a problem with that?"

"Yeah," he said, mildly shocked with himself for getting so riled up over something. "I hate boiled eggs."

"Well," Temari spoke saccharine sweet. "I guess that's just your problem, isn't it?"

The boy whined. He had never felt the urge to strangle someone with their own shadow as he did then.

* * *

They finished their dinner, Shikamaru pushing his egg to the side like a spoiled child. Temari got up and tossed her dishes in the sink, gesturing for him to the same, and follow her. She slid a door open, and her guest trailed behind her into a plainly decorated room, with an assortment of colorful fans adorning the walls. In the middle was a large, single futon.

"You might as well unpack and make yourself comfortable," she said, untying her hair from the bunched pigtails they were always kept up in.

She looked nice with her hair down….

"You just gonna stand there all day?"

Brown eyes snapped to teal as the boy was addressed. "Uh, sorry. Where is a bathroom? So I can change, you know."

"Right down the hall," she explained, pointing the direction. "Last door on the right. I'll have the bed ready for you when you're done, 'kay?"

The pony-tailed boy nodded, truly grateful for her hospitality, considering their history. He entered the bathroom, changed quickly into basic black pajama pants and tank, and made his way back. He reentered the room to see Temari sprawled across futon, which now had its covers pulled down, wearing the default fishnet top all shinobi for one reason or another wear and pants with little weasels scampering around and generally being troublesome.

There still was only one futon.

"Ah…." Temari looked up from the magazine she was reading at Shikamaru's intonation. "Where's my bed?"

She smiled, rising to a stand. "It's right here. This is the only futon I own."

"What?"

As Temari walked towards him, it registered with Shikamaru just how cold it got in the desert at night. This wasn't because he was uncomfortable with the temperature; as a ninja, he had gotten used to far worse weather conditions. It was more the fact that Temari obviously wasn't wearing a bra, and the cold made things…. Perky, let's say, if you catch the drift.

"I'd told you it'd be ready for you when you came back," she said, in that same fake sweet voice. "I was telling the truth, see? The covers are all pulled down all nice for you. So why don't you just get your ass in there so we can both get some rest."

FINE. Fine, okay, whatever. At this point, all Shikamaru really cared about was getting out of this nightmare and getting back to dear old Konoha. He crawled into the bed and scooted over to edge, turning his back from the girl as she climbed in beside him. She clapped twice and the lights went out, leaving them in peace, quiet, and darkness.

Sleep overtook him within minutes. The blonde really couldn't say she was surprised, knowing the boy's lazy habits. She watched his form for a few minutes after her eyes had adjusted to the dark, pupils following the steady movements of his chest and it rose up and down in a constant rhythm. Her nails lightly traced up and down his arm.

She once again found herself genuinely smiling. It was only fitting that she would find someone she like in the one person who had ever beaten her in a fight, despite him being an obnoxious, lazy, cocky, misogynist ass. With a fading grin, she draped her arm around him, finally able to do what she had always wanted to do with her own family, but was always either too scared or embarrassed to do so.

It was nice.

* * *

By the time Temari woke up, he had already left. On his pillow was a note with one word.

'GONE.'

Temari pouted. She hadn't even gotten to say goodbye.

* * *

Shikamaru exited the village, eternally thankful that there were no guards telling him he couldn't. For the next day and a half, he traveled without sleep, making it back to Konoha in record time.

In retrospect, he probably wouldn't have been able to catch some much need REM, with his mind constantly swerving to thoughts of the sand girl.

About how troublesome she was, that is. Of course.

Konohagakure never looked so welcoming. With the sight of Hokage Mountain in the background, he let out a huge sigh of relief.

Ino ruined it.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" His teammate ran up to him, a good-natured grin on her face. "We weren't expecting you back so quickly! How was your-"

"Don't talk to me."

Ino huffed in indignation at being blown off so, but Shikamaru made no sign of giving a damn. He just continued walking down the street, relaxing as her high-pitched angry shriek faded into the distance.

He opened the locked door to his home, counting his blessings, as his mother wasn't there to nag him further. He dragged his feet up the stairs to his room and collapsed on the bed.

Blondes be damned.

* * *

"But Gaara…."

"Temari…"

"You barely even got him to stay a day! It's not fair!"

"Temari, that was absolutely the most degrading thing I've ever had to do in my life. Now pay. Up."

"Oh, fine." Seriously, Gaara had NO sense of fun.

With a sigh, the older sibling took out a small vile of rare, lavender-colored sand from a distant, small country and placed it upon her younger brother's desk. He gave her a small half-smile, and signaled that she could leave.

The blonde 'hmphed' as she turned her back on her sibling. The sand had cost her a bloody fortune, and had been near impossible to find, but…

…But it was worth it, she thought with a small smile as images of the Nara boy flooded her mind. It was definitely worth it.

* * *

THE OOC KILLS MEH DEADD! 

But if you liked it, check out me and my best friend on deviant art: malidiae(dot)deviantart(dot)com

Please review! Comments and concrit are always, always welcome!

-Insidiae-


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